Mum regularly contributes to expat and relocation forums. Questions regarding the cost of living and monthly expenses in Australia are extremely common. We regularly read discussions regarding the minimum salary required to live in Australia’s most popular cities; in particular Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

What income do families need to live in Australia?

At Mum’s gone 2 Aus we have already published a number of articles relating to the cost of living in Australia and monthly family expenses. To help families calculate the minimum income they require we thought it would be useful to share a reminder of the essential information we have provided so far.

Numbeo – online cost of living comparison

Another useful online tool that we recently discovered is Numbeo– a website providing cost of living comparisons. Mum compared London with Sydney and the majority of the cost comparisons are fairly accurate.

It would be interesting if readers could compare their town \ city of origin with where they live now and let us know how accurate the comparisons are. Visit Numbeo here to complete your comparison and please come back and tell us in the comments below what you think.

The magic number: family income required to live in Sydney

To return to the question we asked above “What income do families need to live in Australia?” we would like to attempt to answer this question. We’re concentrating on Sydney because that’s what Mum knows best.

One of the most critical factors influencing salary requirements is the cost of housing. We are basing our recommended salary on living somewhere within an hour of Sydney’s city centre and in a reasonable size property. We have used Numbeo’s figures in our calculations.

When discussing salaries with potential employers you will usually be told the salary package; this is inclusive of superannuation (pension) contributions. We have based our calculations on salaries that include super.

$120,000 – $150,000 per year (including super)

In Sydney, we feel families need a household income of at least $120,000 – $150,000 per year. Here is a breakdown of how we’ve come to this figure.

Basic monthly expenses for a family of 4 with 2 primary school children: Sydney, Australia

Disposable income of a family of 4 with 2 primary school age children: Sydney, Australia

In our experience the disposable income of a family of 4 gets eaten up very quickly with special occasions, outings and treats; and during your first few years in Australia you will incur setup costs (furniture etc) that will quickly leave you feeling the pinch.

Warning! If any of the following affect you, your household income will need to be significantly more than we have outlined above;

If you have children in High School costs will be higher depending on subjects chosen and resources required.

If you have a child of preschool age you may also need to pay for two to three days a week of preschool which depending on where you live in Australia may be subsidised by the government and \ or you may be able to claim back some of the costs through Family Assistance payments.

On a positive note if you are permanent residents or Australian citizens earning $150,000 per year or less you will be eligible for Family Assistance payments and may receive up to $160 per week to help with the cost of raising your children.

What do you think? If you’re already living in Australia, do you agree with our cost of living and salary requirement calculations? What household income do you think families need wherever you live in Australia? Feel free to speak as broadly as possible, we don’t expect you to share your personal details here!

If you are currently planning your move to Australia please let us know if our articles and calculations have helped you, and whether you think there’s something we’ve forgotten to cover. Thank you.

Hi Ken,
I’m afraid I can’t offer specifics about the cost of items in Melbourne, however I have read on several forums that you should expect your disposable income to be about the same, whether you live in Sydney or Melbourne. I believe the theory is that you might earn a little less in Melbourne but the big items like property (rental \ purchase) will also be a little less.
If anyone reading this has first hand experience, please share your thoughts. Thank you.

Thanks-that does make sense. Another question regards “superannuation.” When you are negotiating around salary, and a figure is set forth (or back and forth), from an Australian perspective is superannuation generally assumed to be part of the discussed figure? So, for example if I’m told my salary will be 120K/year, would this generally mean 120K (minus superannuation), or would this be 120K plus superannuation?

Hi Ken, I think it depends but in my experience of jobs advertised online the salary range they offer includes super – they publicise the salary with super to make the take home sound better!! Career One website has a good salary calculator that helps you check take home pay with or without super.

Hi Mumsgone2Aus,
I’ve read your website loads and it has been a huge help to me especially when we moved here 2 years ago.
For our family, on a business visa, the numbers don’t add up, even though my husband earns much more than your calculation.
We rent a good size, modern 3bed unit on Northern Beaches, on a major road, 1 hour commute, for $690/week. This is a good deal for anywhere north of the Harbour bridge.
Preschool fees (3 days a week) are $500 month at the cheapest community preschool.
We also have to pay the $4500 school fees for our eldest.
If we save up to buy our own place then we wont be able to see our UK families (except the grandparents coming for a holiday)..Given that our finances are stretched, we live too far from the city for me to work and pay for childcare, we can’t afford holidays or activities for the children, we are returning to the UK. Maybe our hearts just don’t belong here but we feel these things are important as well as the fantastic Aussie life..Just want to offer bit of realism to anyone who wants to live near the beach!
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Thank you for sharing your comments and experience. I can appreciate how hard it must be to decide to leave, after the effort of getting here and getting settled, also I understand that these figures might not add up depending on individual priorities and your visa situation.
The financial pressures of moving here and affording the beach-lifestyle has been much harder than I expected. I’m sure others will find your insights very useful.
Good luck with your next steps

Hi, we are planning a move with 3 children, 6,4 and 1. From London, Looking at Northern beaches too, renting, not selling U.K home. worried we won’t be able to live to the same standards we do in U.K. We are not lavish, we like to socialise, eat out once a week. Pay for kids activities, golf for the husband, Pilates class for me, Have an annual holiday. We are comfortable, but we don’t get to save, we live! On my husband salary of £88K, he looks to achieve salary of min. $150K should get $180K. Will we have to make sacrifices in Sydney. I won’t be able to work until all kids at school.

Hi Kelly,
To be honest, I think you’ll need to tighten your belts for a few years, unless you have a relocation pot of money (or your relocation is paid for by your firm).
We found it took a while to get over the cost of moving over.
Another consideration is that flights are very expensive. When we were in London, going overseas once a year (or even a few times a year) was achievable because distances were less and flights less expensive. We’ve been here four years and only just been able to contemplate long haul flights for all the family.
How much you pay in rent will influence all of this – you may need to settle for a smaller property to be able to afford all the extras.
Sorry if this sounds negative, trying to be realistic, but you certainly shouldn’t be put off. You’ll spend your money differently here and find countless reasons to make it work
All the best,
Mum

These figures don’t seem right…. Sorry but born and bread here and the figures of $120,000 plus to live is unrealistic. You can live on less income than that!!! It just depends on where you live… Live in certain areas in the suburbs and you can earn less than $120’000 and just use public transport or freeways to get into city. But many jobs are in the suburbs as well. Also centrelink figures are out, cut off isn’t as high as you stated… It’s more $80,000 and then drops per dollar. Also food for thought… I’m first generation Australian and my folks are poms so please don’t take this as an offence but in Australia you have to travel further distances to get to places, it’s a way of life and if you want to afford a comfortable lifestyle on middle wage income you have to travel/ live in the suburbs. Australians tend to have friends/family all over the place and traveling half hour or more in a day is norm for many. So if you can’t see yourself getting in the car and having to drive half hour or more to places, work or people than it will reduce your ability to find work, affordable houses to buy or rent and will affect your quality of living if its a pill all the time for you. If you do find you tick all boxes and don’t travel much than you are very lucky…

Hi Fi, Thank you for your comment, it’s really useful to hear different experiences. What you say about Australians being used to travelling \ driving regular distances is interesting – moving from London to Sydney we had to get used to using a car. I couldn’t live without one now!

Putting a figure on the salary required to move to Australia \ Sydney is hard as there are many personal circumstances that influence the money families will need. I think this is highlighted by the fact that you have said it’s possible to live on less than $120,000 and others have said $120,000 isn’t enough.

My personal experience is that if families are relocating to Sydney and want an inner-city or beach lifestyle, and a reasonable size property, then having a family income of $120,000 per year doesn’t stretch far. I know this is an above average income for an individual but for a family, especially in Sydney, that monthly income flies out the door very quickly – especially if you need to cover school and\or childcare fees.

I think it’s easier to justify moving to Aus and living away from extended family if the lifestyle is better and the finances stack up, but if a family or individual is struggling on either of those points then moving “back home” becomes the only option.

I hope the figures in this article are used as a guideline to support individual research

I have lived in both Melbourne and Sydney (Brisbane too actually), we are a family with 3 kids. I would agree that $120,000 income is the minimum a family with 2 or 3 kids could manage on. Sure you could live on less but you would be living in the outer suburbs or have access to cheaper housing through family or similar. The cost of living is almost identical in both cities. When doing our family budget I always underestimated the cost of liesure/recreation activities, going out for dinner, team sports for kids, birthday parties, holidays, entertainment etc. It can really add up. While these things are not essential they are important for your family to feel like a part of the community and to socialise.

Feel free to ask me any questions about Melbourne suburbs etc. Both cities are wonderful in their own ways.

Hi Millie,
Thank you very much for your helpful comment about the cost of living in Aus. I agree about the cost of leisure/recreation mounting up. I find the start of each school terms ends up being pretty, with all the fee renewals etc.
I’d be interested to know if you see a particular difference between the cost of living in Brisbane and Sydney/Melbourne.
Many Thanks,
Mum